Long Island native Mikel James has hit a perfect mix of balanced pop melodies and witty banter to his electronic/pop music in his album, “Perfect.” His vocal talent has won him many contests including: one sponsored by Wendy’s, Freecreditscore.com, Renew Life Formulas, Inc., Song of the Year Contest, and more.

Combining The Music Of Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai Volume 5 Album With A Visually Moving Astronomical Experience

Los Angeles, CA (September, 2017) … Kitaro brings a totally unique audio/visual experience to California with his upcoming “Kojiki and The Universe” tour beginning November 16 and culminating December 1, 2017. Tour stops include San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Healdsburg, Portland and Seattle.
Presenting a totally unique visual experience, the presentation of “Kojiki and The Universe” merges Kitaro’s Grammy nominated music from the album “Sacred Journey Of Ku-Kai Volume 5” with dynamic space-age photographic scenes of the Universe. The awesome visuals feature time-lapse images, expertly intertwined with real-time films provided by, and in cooperation with, NASA and Kyoto University. Watch the tour trailer here.

“Kojiki and The Universe” was created by Kitaro in collaboration with Astronomy Professor Kazunari Shibata. The entire production of Kojiki and the Universe was developed using modern film editing techniques, as well as state-of-the-art hardware and software. In Japanese mythology, Kojiki is a story closely related to evolution of the universe. It describes the origin of Heaven, Earth and the creation of the Gods. Utilizing Kitaro’s album as the soundtrack, “Kojiki and The Universe” is a chronicle of astronomical research as well as a beautiful introduction to modern astronomy for everyone. Here’s an example of one of the scenes from the show.

Having received Grammy nominations for volumes 1-4, Volume 5 is presented by Kitaro’s long-time label, the Domo Music Group. The Ku-Kai series concept arose after the global events on the fateful day of September 11, 2001. Kitaro was traveling on a jet from Japan to Los Angeles when the transcontinental flight was diverted to Hawaii for 5 days due to the tragedy. It was during this time of disbelief and uncertainty that Kitaro envisioned the Ku-Kai series as a means of uniting the world through music embracing his frequently referenced universal message of peace.

The Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai series is an earthly voyage that transports the listener to the eighty-eight sacred temples located on Shikoku Island in Japan, ancestral home of the beloved Buddhist holy man Ku-kai. The music, which pays homage to the true to life excursion made over 1100 years ago on Shikoku Island endures to this day. Each track on the album revolves around the unique bell sound from the individual temples, using actual sampling and Kitaro’s inspired musical interpretations and distillations of their essences.

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From e1 Entertainment we bring you Anne Akiko Meyers “Fantasia”. She is a beautiful classical violinist. The record will make the hair on your arm stand up straight – it’s so powerful! This album has a very interesting backstory.

The concept begins with one of the last works written by the late composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, who passed away just this summer.

Meyers, a lifelong fan of the composer, had reached out to Rautavaara’s publisher during the spring of 2015 with the idea of a 15-minute fantasy, a free-form piece. To her delight he soon accepted, and at the end of summer she received a handwritten score. She immediately ran to the studio to play it through.

Meyers performed the piece for Rautavaara near the end of 2015 in Helsinki, and he remarked to her that “I wrote such beautiful music.”

Rautavaara composed music of a wide range of styles over his 87 years, but a recurring description of his work is “mystical.” Meyers says this fantasy for violin and orchestra is ethereal and soulful, with overtones of his Symphony No. 7, “Angel of Light.”

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Debbie Williams is on the fabulous label, 335 Records. Not too shabby when you consider 335 is also home to Larry Carlton and Tak Matsumoto – both grammy award winners.
Debbie is a Cabaret genre Jazz Singer who can really “belt it out”….so much, the ground will move! She has a wonderful Christmas single you can get on Amazon, here.

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Be sure to check out our newest Spotify playlist: “Alternative Facts.” It’s filled with alternative rock artists spanning from the classic music of Nirvana to brand new tunes from our friends at Jon Campos & the Incurables.

This playlist is collaborative and we would love for you to add your favorite alt-rock songs! Also, don’t forget to follow the playlist as well as our Web ‘n Retail channel on Spotify so we can keep you updated with all the latest and greatest musical trends. Check out the playlist here:

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This Grammy Award Winning record (won in 2016 at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards) came to us from Emmy Award Winning Composer Laura Karpman who commissioned the works of Langston Hughes 1961 epic Poem at Carnegie Center. It covers all geographics and the native genre of music of each. It features: The Roots, Nnenna Freelon, Ben Wendel, Monet Owens, Taura Stinson, Medusa, Janai Brugger, Angela Brown, Bart Samolis, MB Gordy & The San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.

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Ricky came to us through the amazing artist, Wouter (pronounced “Voo-ter”) Kellerman who he has collaborated with on various projects. Because we were/are so impressed by his work, we included his album Shanti Samsara in our November 2016 Holiday Music Guide. This amazing “world” album takes you on a journey of 40 different countries and utilizes the talent of over 500 musicians including Steward Copeland (The Police), The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the Soweto Gospel Choir, Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul & Mary), Philip Lawrence (Bruno Mars), Patti Austin and of course, Wouter Kellerman.

This is no ordinary musician. He’s a legend. Here’s what a couple fans had to say on iTunes:

A Marvelous Creation (by El Cerrito Records)

Ricky Kej is with no doubt one of the most important Composers of our generation, and Shanti Samsara is one of Ricky Kej’s masterpieces…

An Epic Masterpiece (by Hazine’s World)

Grammy winner Ricky Kej has done it again, and has taken his passion for environmental consciousness through music to a whole new level. Collaborating with 500 musicians (for real!) in 40 countries, each piece on this record is a plea for unification, for awareness, for love and compassion…